On 28 October 2026 a Renfe AVE train travelling from Madrid to Seville struck the rear of a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province, after a failure of the LZB train protection system on the line. Official data put the death toll at 69, with 110 people treated in hospital. A court in Orgaz and the independent technical investigator AITAT are investigating, and the cause has not been officially determined.
As of 1 November 2026 the death toll stands at 69 according to the Centro Integrado de Datos, 34 people remained in hospital on 31 October and identification of victims was continuing. The Madrid to Andalusia high-speed line remains closed with no official reopening date, and the judicial inquiry in Orgaz is under secrecy.
Nine months earlier a Malaga to Madrid train derailed near Adamuz in Cordoba province and collided with a Madrid to Huelva train. AP and Al Jazeera put the toll at 46. Sanchez said the causes of the two crashes appeared unrelated, according to Al Jazeera.
Semaf announced a 24-hour strike across Renfe group companies for 29 October, demanding measures including clear communication of risks on the track and solutions to train reliability problems, according to El Constitucional.
The LZB system failed and trains on the stretch stopped, then ran under lateral signal block without LZB protection, according to the AITAT. AP and the Transport Minister put the affected stretch at 63 km. Al Jazeera, ABC Australia and idealista gave the time as about 8:30.
The Korea Times (AP)
Al Jazeera (with Reuters)CLM24A controller at Adif's control centre told the Renfe train it could resume at normal speed, according to AP. CLM24 and Democrata placed the controller at the Atocha centre in Madrid. The minister said rules required sight running at a maximum of 40 km/h.
The Iryo driver reported she could not restart and remained stopped before the Urda entrance signal, according to the minister's account reported by El Constitucional. CLM24 said the centre had told the Iryo to proceed at 8:41. AP reported the Renfe train was not told to stop. Iryo sources told idealista their driver had not yet been told to move.
The Renfe AVE struck the stationary Iryo train at the entrance to Urda station, according to AP and the AITAT. Renfe said the two rear carriages of the Iryo train derailed, according to Euronews. Euronews gave the time as 8:54 and ABC News as around 8:30.
The AITAT said the AVE carried 379 passengers and 7 crew and the Iryo 147 passengers and 5 crew. The Transport Ministry gave 397 and 146 passengers, according to ABC News.
The AITAT said three investigators were notified at 9:10 and reached the site around 12:15. A second team went to Adif's high-speed control centre to review the telephone log, recordings and video, according to EFE.
More than 200 members of the Military Emergencies Unit were deployed, according to Al Jazeera, and the Civil Guard sent specialist units including forensic investigators, according to Euronews. Madrid's mayor said the capital was sending medical teams and firefighters, Al Jazeera reported.
Adif suspended high-speed services in both directions between Madrid and Andalusia. Iryo said it had activated its emergency protocols and cancelled its southern corridor departures from Madrid.
The Castilla-La Mancha regional government said at least 68 people had died, according to Al Jazeera with Reuters and Euronews. Regional president Emiliano Garcia-Page said about 80 were injured, about 50 seriously and 15 critically, and warned some might not survive.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said preliminary information pointed to an inexplicable decision by the control centre to let the Renfe train resume normally although the LZB system had not been restored, according to Al Jazeera and ABC News. HNGN reported he said he was not attributing responsibility to anyone.
Pedro Sanchez visited the advanced command post at Urda and said it was unacceptable for Spain to suffer two train accidents in the same year. He said the cause was for the rail accident investigation commission to determine, a body replaced in July 2026 by the AITAT.
Royal Decree 949/2026, published in the official gazette on 28 October, declared official mourning from 00:00 on 29 October to 24:00 on 31 October, with flags at half-mast on public buildings and Navy ships.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe mourned with Spain and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity. The US State Department said several US citizens were injured and none reported dead.
By 29 October a judge at the Orgaz court had ordered secrecy in the case and the custody of the trains' recorders, control centre data and Adif's protocols, according to El Constitucional. The court is leading the judicial investigation, according to elDiario.es.
The official Centro Integrado de Datos raised the toll from 68 to 69 on 29 October without explaining why, according to Diario de La Mancha. ABC News reported an Interior Ministry statement giving 74 deaths, later revised to 69 by the presidency and Transport Ministry.
Spain began three days of official mourning, with a minute of silence at midday and flags at half-mast, according to ABC Australia. Several parties suspended campaign events ahead of the 29 November general election, idealista reported.
Semaf's planned strike went ahead with minimum services and the union called for structural change in safety. Renfe called the strike unjustified and said it had met its commitments after Adamuz, according to El Constitucional.
The CSIF union called for the transport minister to resign and for the presumption of innocence to be respected. UGT urged an end to speculation and CCOO said the focus should be on what is wrong with the system, not only on human error.
The AITAT said it helped remove the trains' onboard recorders, now held by the Civil Guard and due to be downloaded at the Orgaz court. Its first report estimated the impact speed at 160 to 200 km/h and all hypotheses remain open. It has in principle a year for its final report.
Spanish media published audio of exchanges between the Atocha control centre and the drivers, including the instruction to resume normal running, according to ABC Australia and Democrata citing Cadena SER. Unions criticised the leak.
The Atocha controller who authorised the AVE to continue invoked his right not to testify, Cadena SER reported on 30 October citing Transport Ministry sources, according to Democrata. HNGN reported he appeared before the Civil Guard under formal investigation and was not arrested. No charges have been reported.
Oscar Puente said the information pointed to a mistake in the control centre and that LZB had gone offline 170 times this year, which he called normal, according to AP. Semaf called the system three decades old and the SCF said controllers faced excessive workloads, AP reported.
Semaf spokesperson Diego Martin said the German-made LZB system should have been replaced some time ago, according to AP. Puente said he would not blame a single worker.
The SCF controllers' union filed a complaint with the investigating judge over the leak of the control centre audio, according to Democrata and CLM24. CLM24 reported that Vox complaints against Adif officials and the minister at the Supreme Court, and a Manos Limpias complaint against Adif, Renfe and Iryo, were pending admission.
The High Court of Castilla-La Mancha reinforced the Orgaz court so a judge could work exclusively on the case, according to CLM24 and Diario de La Mancha. idealista reported the Justice Ministry sent four more judges.
Forensic institutes in Toledo and Ciudad Real completed the 69 autopsies on Friday, according to Diario de La Mancha, while HNGN reported 65 by Friday afternoon. AP reported that only five bodies had been identified by Friday and that 70 families had filed missing persons reports.
Semaf asked the State Rail Safety Agency to act urgently to stop trains resuming normal running when LZB or ERTMS fail and more than one train may be in the same block section, according to CLM24 and Diario de La Mancha.
By 31 October 36 victims had been identified and the Civil Guard had informed 27 families in person, according to Diario de La Mancha, and HNGN and Diario de La Mancha put open missing persons reports at 67. The regional health service said 34 people remained in hospital, 15 in intensive care. Garcia-Page did not rule out the toll exceeding 70.
A funeral mass was scheduled in the Urda parish church, led by the Archbishop of Toledo, with Garcia-Page due to attend. No state funeral had been announced and official mourning ended at midnight, according to Diario de La Mancha.
Adif had set no reopening date, according to Diario de La Mancha. Democrata reported that Renfe suspended new high-speed ticket sales to Andalusia until 13 December and that its alternative plan cannot start before 3 November, and that a 14 November reopening reported by Diario de Sevilla had not been confirmed.
Al Jazeera (with Reuters) · aljazeera.com
ABC News · abcnews.com
Euronews (with AFP) · euronews.com The Korea Times (AP) · koreatimes.co.kr Al Jazeera · aljazeera.comLast updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.